On TV

There are many disadvantages to following your favorite sporting team on the road. 

- You don't know the stadium or city (hello waiting 45 minutes for a single cab to drive by).  

- You are out-numbered by the opposing team's fans.

- If you lose the game it is a LONG walk out of the stadium

However, there are also so many advantages: 

- Being one of the few fans allows room to get up close and personal with the players

- Autographs are a lot easier to come by

- The announcers see your huge groups of fan and put you on TV.  A lot.  

Of course the only time I was on TV was when I was taking a drink of my uncle's beer while my daughter was sitting on my lap. 

(Thanks to a friend who sent that to me!)

I'm not holding on to her or anything, because that concrete looks super soft.

Mom of the year right here.  

I recorded the games just in case we made it on TV, so last night after Ina went to sleep I got a good laugh watching my family through high definition.  

My mom dancing.

My grandma sleeping.

Someone in my family picking his / her nose (not naming any names, but I am never deleting that from my DVR!)

Other than watching the game on TV I spent my free time playing vacation relief - unpacking, laundry, sleeping, etc.  So today I am ready to get back in the normal swing of things.

Have a good one!

Question for the day: Have you ever made it on TV at a sporting event?

Unfortunately, I have made it on TV at a sporting event before.  A few years ago, I was at a college football game and the camera guy came over and told us to scream for the camera.  I was so excited that I started pointing to the Mizzou emblem on my shirt.  

When I watched the game with my family the next day it appeared I was just pointing at my chest.  Super cool, I know.  

(Lots of) Chicago Pictures

Chicago Bound

Good morning and Happy Friday!  

Let's celebrate with balloons. 

As you are reading this I will be catching a train to Chicago.

I and 22 of my family members are going to Chi-town for the weekend to watch the Royals play.  

Yep.  You read that correctly - 23 of us are going on vacation together.  

7 kids

2 people who have been hospitalized in the last month

1 Dan (that has to count for something, right?)

It is going to be a crazy blast. 

Dinner last night: 

Turkey pesto meatloaf with roasted okra and carrots (both from our CSA box).  

Have you tried roasted okra?  If you like okra, roasting it is the way to go.  

Have a happy weekend!  See you sometime with pictures! <3

So Fresh

Can it be Summer all year long?

Dan picked Ina and I a wild flower boquet yesterday.  Which Ina immediately tried to eat.  

Dan's definition of wild flower is broader than most - I have no idea what that long thing is -but still really appreciated the sentiment. 

Last Summer I was pregnant and not wanting any vegetables, so this summer I feel like I am making up for it.  

Breakfast - oatmeal with bananas, peaches, and walnuts, with some set aside for the Inster.  

Lunch - my new favorite salad - corn (from our friend Brad) tomatoes, basil (both from our garden), some cheese, EVOO, and salt and peppa.

With a few farm fresh hard boiled eggs.

Snack - unpictured cereal with blackberries from OUR blackberry bush

Dinner - stuffed patty pan squash with more corn and green beans

Made almost entirely from our CSA box.  

Putting Ina in the middle of the tables allows us to take turns feeding her and really takes the pressure off of one person.    This girl loves her squash!

We are going out of town tomorrow morning (hello Chicago!), so I am trying to use all of our produce.  This is a tall order. 

Ina and I ran 3.5 slow, hilly, and heavy miles yesterday, but we both felt so good when we were done!

I am off to WW.  Have a lovely day! <3

Being a Working Mom

Good morning!

The lack of post yesterday was due to me working from my grandma's house.

Apparently being at grandma's house = no blogging Racheal, because I rarely blog from there and instead opt to drink coffee and chat with my family as the sun comes up.  

I also didn't take any pictures, but my cousin took this one while I was working inside and the kids were playing outside.

This picture, and the many others that were taken of Ina and her cousins playing while I was in a bedroom staring at a laptop, made me even more aware of what I am missing for 40 hours a week.

While I was on maternity leave, I thought it would be impossible for me to go back to work.  And while going back to work has been possible, it is still painful. 

Routine-wise it gets easier every day.  I actually make it out the door on time most days of the week.  

Emotion-wise it hasn't become easier and feels like I am leaving her for the first time every morning.

I am beyond blessed to have a job that allows me to work from home two days a week.  However, during those two days, I catch a glimpse of what I am missing.  

On the days I am home and upstairs in my office I hear a giggle from Ina and wish I could see the toothy grin that goes along with it.  I hear Abby exclaim, "wow, Ina, you are such a big girl!" and I feel like I have to hold myself down to my chair.  

At my grandma's house  I come downstairs to everyone playing "follow the leader" or as my nephew Kauffman says, "follow the WEEder."  I see pictures of the kids playing in the pool or painting the playhouse or playing with bubbles and I so want those pictures to be MY memories.  

Life is short.  

Their baby-time is even shorter.  

All of that is to say that being a working mom is a constant emotional struggle and I have it so much easier than most. I love my job and have no plans to change my work situation.   I just wanted to put that out there, because it has been on my mind a lot lately.  

<3

Owl Baby Shower

On Sunday I hosted a baby shower for my friend Liz.  

Isn't she so cute?

This time, my friend's sister Alex (the one who threw me the Halloween themed baby shower) was in charge of the decor and she did an amazing job.  

My house was filled with owls that I didn't take pictures of because my hands were pretty full.

I did have time to take a picture of this awesome owl cake she made from cupcakes and cake balls.

Isn't she talented?

I stuck to what I know best - the food.  

The Menu:

- Fruit salsa with cinnamon sugar pita chips

- Veggie Tray

-Mini corn dog muffins

- Pesto cream cheese dip (layer cream cheese, pesto, and grape tomatoes in a baking dish and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes)

- Caprese bites

- Crockpot meatballs

- Mini chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches 

Other than the food, the best thing about baby showers are babies.

And with every baby shower comes a new baby.

I love it.

Keep 'em coming!

I tried to double fist them whenever possible, but Ina was getting a little jealous.  

And because this blog is called Running with Racheal I suppose I should mention that Ina and I snuck out for a 3 mile run before church yesterday.  

Have a good week!

What I have Complained About So Far...

Good morning, 

I am writing this on a Saturday in the hopes that most people won't read it.  

Ha!

Even though on Thursday I said I was going to try to complain less, I still caught myself complaining within an hour of writing that darn post...

I was talking to my mom about meeting her at the gym after work, and Ina was with us, and in my "baby-voice" I said, "We can meet G at the gym on the nights that stinky daddy gets home from work late."

I immediately wanted to pull those words back into my mouth and gobble them up.

This is going to be harder than I thought.

I have been trying, really, I have, but here is a summary of the complaints that have slipped through my no-complaint filter: 

Thursday:

I am so tired.

I am so sore.

I am so tired.

Thursday was a pretty good day, but Friday was a little worse:

How do I not have time to run today?

I am so tired.

I am so sick of this client at work that makes all these ridiculous demands.

Ugh!  Where is my phone?  Why can I never find my phone?  Where is my camera? Why is it that when I want to take a picture of something I can never find a picture-taking device?

Why does Dan always take Ina from me when I don't need his help?  All day long I need his help and he is doing something else, and then when I actually want to rock her to sleep and hold her he swoops in a takes her away.  I wish I could do that.  It seems so easy.

OK, I got a little excessive with that last one, and was exaggerating a bit because Dan does help with plenty of other things other than just putting Ina to sleep, but I wanted to include it as an example that complaining is not only useless, but sometimes inaccurate. 

Things that I have been positive about:

- My mom is coming over this morning to help with Ina while I get our house ready for a baby shower tomorrow

- My family from Texas is coming into town this week and this weekend my ENTIRE family is going to Chicago on the train

- My CSA box is completely awesome

- Ina is so close to crawling.  So close.  

- We had a wonderfully grilled dinner last night that included buffalo brats from Herman, MO that were AMAZING.

(Ina ate that entire sweet potato in between sucking on ears of corn.  The entire thing. That girl is a beast.)

- We busted out one of our last bottles on wine from our trip to Napa Valley last night. It was delicious.  

- My friend Ashley made a surprise visit last night and was able to stay for dinner, Ina's bath time, and to watch the Royals game (who won!).  

- I will get to see some ladies I miss and I haven't seen in a while at the baby shower on Sunday (so exciting!)

With that I wish you a wonderfully positive weekend! <3

Proud Daughter

Yesterday was a pretty big deal at my WW meeting.

My mom, who has been going to WW with me and Ina for a few months, lost 10% of her starting weight!  

How awesome is that!?!

We both cried a few tears of joy. <3

She has been working so hard and I am so, so proud of her. 

Losing 10% of your weight can improve your health in so many ways.  For example, my mom's blood pressure is already back to goal.  Hopefully soon we can get her off of those pesky meds (my absolute favorite thing to do as a pharmacist).  

Good job Momma!

Ina was proud too.

She showed her by eating the weekly flyer, playing with my water bottle, and filling her diaper.

After that, the rest of the day was pretty anti-climatic, until I found this zucchini in my garden. 

I know.  Can you believe it?

I used it to make enchilada stuffed zucchini following this recipe.  

Served with a salad and some avocados that were near expiration.  

A few other Friday favorites: 

-For the past few days my cousin Abby has been pre-making the coffee the night before and all I need to do is press start when I come downstairs in the morning.  When I taste that first sip of heaven without having to pour water into a small compartment or clean out the re-usable filter I have to resist the urge to walk up to her bedroom and kiss her forehead.  I am seriously that thankful.

- I ordered a new water bottle on Amazon. 

I love it and have been drinking at least 100 oz a day since it has arrived.

-I also ordered Ina some re-usable squeeze food bags.  I can put the food I make for her in there, close it like a zip-lock bag, and hand it over.

They are also dishwasher safe, freezer friendly, and BPA free.

So far she has figured out that she can get the food from the spout, but she hasn't realized she has to squeeze it and therefore needs some assistance.  

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!  <3